Secrets of the Past
by vanillathunder215
Summary: Everything you knew, and everything you thought you knew, was all a lie, hidden beneath a lost legend that should have never been forgotten. The one story that Kup never told was the one he needed to tell the most. 07' verse
1. Epilogue

Full summary; some things should never be forgotten and some legends should never be viewed as simply stories. When one such legend proves just that, the Autobots find themselves, their new found allies and pretty much all of earth threatened by something more dangerous than possibly even Megatron. With their pitifully small numbers and lack of supplies, things look pretty bleak. Then a startling discovery leaves more questions than it does answers; Ironhide is somehow directly related to it all. The problem is, he has no idea how or why.

Epilogue:

It had been going on for so long that, had they really stopped to think about it, no one really remembered just exactly how the fighting had started. To many of them, notably the younger generation, there had always been war, the lines had always been divided into the Autobots and the Decepticons. Peace was something they could only imagine from fantasy. Only the older war veterans could remember a time that the air wasn't filled with smoke from war torn buildings, that the ground wasn't littered with the dead and the dying, that the only sound they could hear was the booms and cracks of various weapons firing.

How had the war begun? It was a common question that the younger ones asked. They knew WHY they were fighting…but sometimes, it was nice to know how it started and, more specifically, WHO had started it.

There was no straight answer, only stories and legends. Legends that, truth or not, they had to be satisfied with. There was one legend, however, that was common to both Autobots and Decepticons alike.

XxXxXx

Contrary to popular belief, Megatron was NOT the one to form the Decepticons. No, they were started long before him by a mech whose name would burn in infamy. One whose cruelty, malice and will to dominate the universe made Megatron pale in comparison. Though his true name was lost, the name he went by made others shiver in fear.

Kinslayer!

No one knows why Kinslayer chose to betray his home world. Speculation ran through everything from simple things like a glitch in his mainframe or a virus corrupting his programming to more complex theories such as grudges held against various government officials. No one knew for sure. Kinslayer certainly wasn't telling anyone.

As the legend went, Kinslayer built up the Decepticons secretly in the shadows of illegal gladiatorial games and other underground circuits, recruiting those who were like-minded to him, those with malcontent seething in their circuits. At first, they were recruited in secret. Mechs and femmes pulled suddenly into quiet corners and "offered" admittance. Those who refused…well, their bodies were found days later. As their numbers grew, they became more visible, openly recruiting. Kinslayer himself was rarely seen, adding to the fear revolving around the faction, but that fear only seemed to serve to pull more in. Slowly his forces grew into an army.

He had caught Cybertron grossly unprepared. The Senate and the Council of Ancients had turned a blind eye for far too long to the activity of the underground circuits and know the price was being paid in blood. Cybertron found itself thrown into war.

The resistance forces, the Autobots, bravely stood against the Decepticons and their deadly leader, but they were not the warriors the former gladiators were. Despite all their efforts, they were slowly pushed back under the force of the more organized and deadly army of doom.

Kinslayer would have certainly destroyed the Autobot army easily and have taken over Cybertron before continuing his conquest…

…Had it not been for one small sparkling.

This sparkling, found with his dying femme creator at the gates of Iacon, had been Kinslayer's downfall. His femme creator, who had died getting her sparkling to safety, was a member of the Autobot army that Kinslayer and his Decepticons had taken captive. No one was sure exactly who the sparkling's mech creator was, or how she had escaped with the newly sparked little one, but they all celebrated the fact that he had survived, especially as the sparkling had blue optics, a trait common to many Autobots. A trait that usually meant death.

Kinslayer disappeared suddenly. Rumor had it that he had lost his prestigious standing among his army when the femme had escaped with the young one. It was also rumored that Megatron, his ever-critical second-in-command, took the opportunity to over-throw Kinslayer and take control of the Decepticons himself. Whatever it was, the discovery and subsequent survival of the sparkling seemed to have thrown the Decepticons, once famed for their organization skills, into utter chaos.

No one knew what became of the sparkling, whose name was not recorded, indeed if it was ever known. No one knew if the little one lived or died. There were only whispered rumors. Rumors that were just as shadowy and mysterious as their subject matter. Thus, the sparkling, and Kinslayer, faded into history, turning, like most mysterious stories do, into legends.

Millions of years later, Cybertron stands deserted, consumed by war and death, its survivors scattered across the universe. There are very few, if any at all, left who remember the old legend of Kinslayer and the beginning of the war. And so, legend faded into myth and myth began to fade into the passages of time where it would be lost forever.

But some legends should never be forgotten.

XxXxXx

A/N: Oh dearie me, I actually did it…I actually started my first TF fic. ~faints~

Heh, heh…I know, it sounds sorta prophetic doesn't it? ^^; Almost like the beginning of the 07' movie or the beginning of Lord of the Rings. I promise, it's only for this part. Just like it is for the movies!

Yeah, epilogues are the worst teasers in the world, aren't they?

Please realize that I do not claim any of this as accurate in any way. Though I grew up watching an episode of Transformers every now and then, my obsession didn't take off until the 07' movie came out and one mech in particular stole my heart (I'm pretty sure it was the cannons…yes, it was the cannons…and that too-die-for truck alt-mode! ;p )

Last request; please be nice to me. While this isn't my first fic, this is my first TF fic and I'm doing the best I can in a more-or-less unfamiliar fandom. I welcome tips and suggestions, critiques and pointers, with open arms and hugs and glomps but flamers and the not-so-polite blasters will be fed to my plot bunny on her psychotic days. You do not want that. She makes the bunny from Monty Python and the Holy Grail look saintly on those days.

-Vanillathunder215


	2. Acclimation

Chapter 1 - Acclimation

"_With the Allspark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. But fate has yielded its own reward: a new world to call home…" –Optimus Prime_

He had traveled all over the universe, had visited many galaxies, and had seen more planets than he could remember. He had landed on many of those planets, had actually walked on their surface, had seen the landscape and had even met some of their native inhabitants on occasion. Though most of the time he had tried to avoid contact with the natives, but he could still say he had met them.

But earth was different. It was different in that it was the first planet Ironhide had ever been on besides his home planet Cybertron that he wasn't fighting in a war. It was an odd feeling, especially after all those millennia spent in constant warfare, but a feeling he didn't necessarily dislike. It was just going to take some getting used to.

Just like earth, his new home.

Probably the biggest thing on Ironhide's "Get Used To" list was the inhabitants of earth; the humans.

Completely made of organic materials, no external armor nor integrated weapons and outrageously primitive, Ironhide had at first been completely disdainful of the humans. Sector 7 didn't exactly help to improve that opinion very much. If anything, it had further deepened his scorn to the point where, had it not been for Optimus's constant warnings, he would have blown someone into smoking pile of slag. But then, he witnessed their resourcefulness and bravery during the Mission City battle. Watching Will Lennox and his men help take out Brawl and then destroy Blackout on their own had chipped away his earlier disdain. Then Sam Witwicky had destroyed Megatron by pushing the cube into his chest…well, Ironhide had been more than a little impressed.

The humans had bearings made of titanium; Ironhide would definitely give them that.

Maybe, just maybe, humans, and his new home, earth, weren't so bad after all.

********

The immense black truck filled the parking space, dwarfing the cars around it, making them look like tinker toys. The parking spots around it were empty, other drivers hesitant to get close to such an intimidating truck.

Which suited Ironhide just fine. He didn't like being boxed in on all sides by cars. He had once found himself in such a situation a few months ago, surrounded by cars that had parked so close that if he shifted to the side on his tires, he would dent their doors. By the time Will had returned, Ironhide was practically shaking. Will had had to back the claustrophobic truck out himself and it had taken almost an hour to calm the Topkick down. Since then, Will had taken extra effort to park Ironhide in a place where he would have more space.

But right now, the lot was mercifully quiet, allowing Ironhide to relax a little. The warm Nevada sun bearing down on his armor made him feel comfortable and lazy. Though he kept his sensors alert for anything suspicious, he was, as the humans call it, half-asleep.

He perked up a little bit when another truck, one much smaller than he was, parked a few spaces away. He watched with mild interest as a tall girl climbed out, pulling her purse strap over her head, running her hand through her hair and about fifty thousand other little things human females tended to do before finally hitting the lock on her truck and started to walk towards the store.

Inevitably, seeing as how she had to walk past him, her eyes focused on him. Ironhide watched her intently. He loved watching the various reactions his alt mode evoked. Even after 8 month of living with the humans, he still had gotten tired of it. One couldn't blame the mech though; it was circuit numbingly boring sitting in a parking lot for any length of time. He took his amusement where he could get it.

The girl's blue eyes widened and her lips parted slightly in awe. She stopped walking and stood there staring for several seconds before she seemed to shake herself.

"It's just a truck." Ironhide heard her mumble to herself as she started walking again, "Stop letting your mind wander off without supervision and, for God's sake, stop gawking at that truck like some love-struck high school girl!"

Ironhide had to force down a laugh. He hadn't heard that kind of comment before! This girl was in a category all her own. Almost eagerly, he continued to watch her, wanting to see what she would do next. She continued on towards the store, though her steps were decidedly slower. She didn't seem to be intimidated by him, which immediately raised Ironhide's opinion of her quite a bit.

She was a tall girl but standing next to Ironhide she suddenly seemed small as she craned her head back at the truck. Girl and mech considered each other with equal intensity, fascinated with one another.

"Good Lord, you make just about every other full-sized pick-up I've ever seen look like a trash can!" the girl finally muttered, "Huh, it almost feels like you're staring back at me…oh-no, there you go with that unsupervised mind again! It can't watch you. It can't see you!"

Oh, if only you knew, femme! Ironhide thought to himself smugly, if only you knew.

Suddenly, she frowned, instantly raising Ironhide's suspicion. He tensed ever so slightly, wondering what she was frowning at. He still hadn't completely mastered the art of reading human facial expressions but he knew that a frown was a negative one. Cybertronians had facial expressions, of course, but humans had practically elevated it into its own language.

"Some people just can't seem to take care of their cars. Either that or some punk had tried to play chicken with you." She snorted, leaning closer to inspect the deep scar-like gouge running across his right headlight.

"Scars or no, you're still one hell of a truck." She murmured, giving the truck one last admiring look before lightly running her fingers along the front fender as she walked off.

It took every once of willpower in him to keep from jerking when her fingertips brushed against him. He didn't know whether to feel surprised or repulsed by her touch. He wasn't over fond of hands all over him, especially hands belonging to people he didn't know, but that feather light touch had left him with his jaw proverbially on the ground and his chassis feeling rubbery. Suddenly, a horrible thought entered his CPU.

Primus, I hope Lennox didn't see that, Ironhide thought, sensors instantly searching the lot, I'm so slagged if he and his big mouth did…

The Topkick's processor nearly froze in horror when he heard a soft snicker and he glanced to his right to see one Major Will Lennox leaning against a nearby car, a large smirk spread across his face.

Frag!

********

_(Meanwhile, in space…)_

Six meteors streaked through empty airless space, dust and debris catching and breaking off, spanning out behind each meteor to form spectacular "tails".

They were not ordinary space rocks, however. Their metal forms, hidden beneath the rocky encrusting, was evidence enough, even without the strange hieroglyphic engravings decorating their forms. If one with the right equipment were to get close enough, they would have been able to pick up a signal, an energy signature that identified the six "meteors" as Autobots.

Though heavily armored and traveling in a formation that afforded some defense in case of attack, they were wary. Danger lurked everywhere, seen and unseen, and they wouldn't be safe until they made planet fall and were reunited with their companions and commander.

They were eager now, filled with new hope and strength. Optimus Prime, their leader and commander, had sent out a message calling all Autobots to this new planet called earth. Years of silence, of brooding in despair and hopelessness, floating in the nothingness of space, the call came nothing short of a breath of life. There was still hope after all!

And so they had quickly answered their commander's call. They were coming. They would make planet fall soon. A week, days even. They would come.

"**We're coming, Prime." **

********

_Screaming. He remembered screaming. He couldn't make out what they were saying though, but then, he didn't really want to. _

_Someone…running, carrying another along, whispering words of comfort that weren't really felt. Ironhide couldn't remember a name, but he felt that he knew him…her? A femme? Yes, a femme. He knew her. She was familiar, very familiar. But…from where?_

_He also thought he recognized the other. He was much, much smaller than the femme. A sparkling? Again, that familiar feeling, but with no recollection as to where. _

_The femme ran harder, her air intakes rasping desperately. She didn't look to be in that great of shape. In fact, she looked horrible. Ironhide had seen war casualties in better shape. But desperation pushed her on, desperation and fear. Her fear so acute that Ironhide could practically smell it, making his energon pump start to pound in resonance to her fear, his spark seize at the foreign sensation. _

_He could make out some of the screams and shouts. They were getting louder, as if they were drawing closer. Threats, curses. Decepticons? It definitely sounded like them. He glanced over his shoulder. It was dark and his vision couldn't pierce through the blackness, couldn't see their pursuers, but he knew they were there. Knew they were after the femme and the sparkling she held. He wanted to do something to help her. He wanted to fight off her pursuers so she and the sparkling could escape, but he couldn't move. He could only watch, helpless, and hope that she got away. _

_The femme was picking up speed now, clutching the sparkling closer to her chassis. She suddenly looked at him, her optics full of fear, but softening a bit as she took him in. Her features where blurry, like he was looking through a dirty window, but her optics shone a bright, clear blue. _

_Suddenly her optics widened and she looked down, Ironhide following her gaze. His pump nearly stalled when he saw the gaping hole suddenly appear in her mid-section, energon flowing like a water fall from it, sparks flying from snapped wires. _

_Then she was on the ground, her optics slowly dimming as her spark began to fade. Though she was dying, she still tried to protect her sparkling, shielding the tiny body with her own, and still whispering words of comfort. _

"_No…" Ironhide whispered hoarsely, "No…no, no, NO!!"_

_Maniacal laughter suddenly split through the air, echoing all around, drowning out the screams. Ironhide knew that laugh, knew it, feared it and hated it with all his spark. But, like the dying femme in front of him, he didn't know from where. _

"_**THIS ISN'T OVER!" **_

Ironhide snapped out of recharge. His sensors scrambled to come online as, completely disoriented and unaware of his surroundings and still trapped within the fear, rage and hate of his nightmare, he transformed to his bipedal form in record time, his cannons crackling to life and training on...

Nothing. There was nothing there. No dying femme. No sparkling. No Decepticons. Just the still night silence that enveloped the Lennox property.

Ironhide forced himself to calm down, powering down his cannons and transforming them back into their holsters. He ran quick scans over the house, reassured that the family inside was still asleep, unaware of what was happening outside.

He cycled air through his vents in what could be called a sigh. He had dreamed before. That wasn't uncommon. Nightmares too. He had fought in a war for millions of years, seen more death and destruction than anyone, human or mech, ever should. He was entitled to having nightmares, for Primus' sake!

But this nightmare bothered him in a way that none of the others he had ever had in his life had. But why and how, he just couldn't figure out. It seemed that, the more he tried to dig around in his memories, the more it eluded him.

Frustrated, the black mech snorted and transformed back into his Topkick form. No use losing recharge time fretting over something I can't remember, he thought as he started up his recharge program, if I can't remember it, then it probably wasn't worth remembering anyway.

If only he could make himself believe his own words.

XxXxXx

A/N: Since they don't actually "sleep" in the sense of REM, I didn't know if it was possible for the Autobots to actually dream. However, the psycho plot bunny told me to do it. She's very pushy when she wants to be.

The whole parking lot incident actually happened not too long ago. I was walking through the parking lot to work and I saw this IMMENSE black pick-up. I got really excited and, of course, I HAD to go check it out. It wasn't a Topkick, unfortunately, (I live in Ford country) but some Ford F-350's are just as big. It was still drool-worthy even if it wasn't Ironhide himself (that's fan-girl-gasm)

Speaking of fan-girl-gasms… I FINALLY got my Ironhide toy. I've only scoured just about ever Target, Walmart and toy store in the city (jeez, one would think that there would be at least ONE in a city the size of Houston!! .) but I finally snagged the new ROTF Ironhide. I scared quite a few people while I was at it, but it was more than worth it! XDD He's not totally black but it's nothing I can't fix with black paint and gloss finish. Oh how I love being an artist! XDDD

Review responses; THANK YOU to my wonderful reviewers. I love y'all with all my heart. You're the reason I keep pouring my heart and soul into writing.

Arken Elf: Yup, I'm gonna keep going as regularly as I possibly can. I don't think that it's a good idea to keep Ironhide waiting for too long…XD

Enigma101: Thank you!! I'll try to keep regular posts!

Agent-doo: Oh wow, thank so much!! I'm thrilled that you're hooked. I'll try to live up to expectations in future chapters! As for the mysterious sparkling, heeheehee, you'll just have to wait and see! XDD


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